Trump administration can't require states to cooperate with ICE to get transportation funding, judge says

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from requiring almost two dozen mostly Democratic states to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in order to receive billions in transportation funding.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned in April his department may cut off grants to any recipients that fail to "cooperate generally with Federal authorities in the enforcement of Federal law" — part of a wider gambit to push back against "sanctuary" jurisdictions. 

A group of 20 states sued, arguing the administration doesn't have the legal authority to tie transportation dollars — which states rely on for upkeep of roads, airports and other infrastructure — to immigration enforcement.